Entries open for Fine Food NZ Innovation Awards

Entries open for Fine Food New Zealand Innovation
Awards and Showcase 2018

Have you recently
launched a breakthrough product or service in the food,
beverage, food service or hospitality industries? Show it
off and stand a chance of winning one of the coveted Fine
Food New Zealand Innovation Awards.

Entries are now
open, offering exhibitors that have achieved breakthroughs,
made new advancements and/or demonstrated genuine innovation
an opportunity to take a title in one of the three award
categories.

Event manager Lorraine Smith notes many of
the 300+ exhibitors launch new products and services at the
show, and the Innovation Awards provide the ideal
opportunity to showcase new developments and gain industry
recognition.

“The Innovation Awards are the benchmark
for excellence in the food, beverage, foodservice and
hospitality industries. We apply the highest standards to
ensure the quality of the competition, with winners enjoying
widespread acclaim as well as a valuable prize pack,” she
says.

Open to all exhibitors, the three categories
are:

1. Most Innovative Retail Grocery
Product (sponsored by Intermedia with FMCG
Magazine) Products designed for retail outlets,
including packaging, technology and equipment, food and
beverage products for consumer purchase, plus shop fittings,
display equipment and point of sale.

2. Most
Innovative Foodservice Product (sponsored by
Intermedia with Hospitality Business Magazine) Bulk food
or beverages available in catering packs, designed for use
in food preparation including hygiene or packaging products
for caterers, deli, restaurants, takeaways, hospitals,
cafes, bars, canteens, etc.

3. Most Innovative
Hospitality Product or Service (sponsored by
Intermedia with Hospitality Business Magazine) Equipment
ranging from small appliances to large systems, including
front or back of house equipment, kitchen appliances,
tableware, furniture, sound systems, point of sale,
refrigeration, waste systems, technology
etc.

4. The James & Wells Champion of Innovation
Award (Sponsored by James & Wells) The overall
winner of the Fine Food New Zealand Innovation
Awards.

Products or services qualifying for an entry into
the awards must have been launched between 1 January 2017
and 24 June 2018.

Winner of the 2016 Most Innovative
Retail Grocery Product award, Manukee Honey’s York Spencer
says he would certainly encourage other exhibitors to make
the most of it. “We won a $5000 ad package out of FMCG
magazine and that gave us an introduction to key grocery
retailers, who are a target channel for us,” he
says.

Champion of Innovation Award winner Ian Williams,
himself a Master Brewer, said his BrewKeg50 was like Uber
for the brew market. “Bars, clubs and cafes can make beer
at half the price of what they get from the brewery, in
seven days. And it gives them the power to create their own
brands. It’s very disruptive.”

Prizes include media
packages with Intermedia Group New Zealand, promotion
through the Fine Food New Zealand website, social media and
newsletters. Each winner also receives a unique award trophy
and certificate.Every product entry will be displayed
within the Innovation Showcase, located at the foyer
entrance of the show to maximise delegate attention; any
exhibitor can enter one or multiple products, in any of the
categories.

“Taking home one of these prestigious awards
is a major achievement for any exhibitor which helps raise
the profile of their product or service, while also earning
the respect and attention of fellow exhibitors,” says
Smith. “I encourage every exhibitor to consider entering
their innovative product or service and stand a chance to be
named one of the winners.”

The Innovation Award winners
will be announced at the Innovation Awards ceremony on
Sunday 24 June at the show.

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